What to do to make the playoffs in Region 2-AAA

Columbus High and Shaw have already secured a berth in the upcoming Class AAA playoffs, which begin on May 9.

Troup, LaGrange, Northside and Hardaway can still all make the playoffs going into this final week.

It's a little complicated, but I'll run through the scenarios as quickly as possible.

So here goes:

Columbus (17-1) - Secured the No. 1 spot (That is the easy one.)

Shaw (15-4) - Made the playoffs; Can secure the No. 2 spot with win over Northside or a Northside loss (against LaGrange) and a Troup loss

Troup (13-5) - Win its final two games and the Tigers will finish no worse than third

Northside (13-5) - Will finish no worse than third with wins against LaGrange and Shaw.
(It is the same scenario as Troup because if Troup and Northside both win out there will be a three-way tie. Troup would finish second, Northside third and Shaw fourth).

Hardaway (12-6) - Will make the playoffs with two wins and Troup loss or two Northside losses

LaGrange (12-6) - Will make playoffs with two wins
(This scenario is the most complicated as it would involve a four-way tie. But trust me, I am 95 percent sure the Grangers would be in. Hardaway would also be in.)

It will be a fun final week of baseball, and the playoffs haven't even started.

And Pacelli can wrap up Region 4-A with a win and a Schley County loss.

Hawks stay alive

Hardaway came away with a much-needed win on Friday.

The Hawks beat Northside 4-1 to tighten the region standings a little more and improve their playoff chances.

Hardaway is 12-6 with two games remaining. The Hawks will be favored in their final two games.

Northside is 13-5 and tied with Troup for third. LaGrange is 12-6.

Northside still has to play LaGrange and Shaw. Troup has to play LaGrange. The Grangers have to play Northside and Troup.

It's possible that there could be a four-way tie for third place. If that happens more than likely someone is going to miss the playoffs because of runs allowed. Look for teams to try and score as many as possible next week.

I am going to figure out some of the scenarios over the next few days.

Too close to call

It will be an interesting final week of play in Region 2-AAA. Five teams are fighting for three playoff spots.

At this point, the scenarios are endless. They will become a little more clear after Friday's games.

This much is certain: Hardaway and LaGrange neeed to win. Both the Hawks and Grangers' chances of making the playoffs took a hit when Troup beat Columbus High 5-3 on Wednesday afternoon.

For those two teams, it appears quite simple: Win out and get a little help.

This much is certain: Shaw wins one more game and the Raiders are in. If they win both, they'll be the No. 2 seed and host a first-round series.

We'll see how it plays out. Here are the standings:

Region 2-AAA standings
Team Record Games remaining
Columbus 16-1 Kendrick, Harris County, Jordan
Shaw 14-4 Spencer, Northside
Northside 13-4 Hardaway, LaGrange, Shaw
Troup 12-5 Jordan, Kendrick, LaGrange
Hardaway 11-6 Northside, Spencer, Carver
LaGrange 11-6 Carver, Northside, Troup

*Harris County, Kendrick, Spencer, Jordan and Carver have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Curious decision

When I was pulling up to the Russell County baseball field, I noticed something interesting.

Down the left field line, there was a giant hole. It was in foul grounds, but it was still a big hole.

So I asked Russell County coach Tony Rasmus about it. He told me that there was a problem with the sprinklers.

But more importantly, he said, "I guess they think our season is over."

Actually, they better fill that hole quickly because a win against Daphne this weekend in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs, and the Warriors could host next weekend.

Or maybe it's foreshadowing, and they know the Warriors are going to lose.

Only time will tell.

Playoffs are here

It's only the middle of the week, and it's already been a fun and exciting week. It's going to get a little more exciting as the soccer playoffs begin on Thursday.

Russell County also will play in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs on Friday in Mobile, Ala., against No. 4 Daphne.

Here is a quick rundown of the playoffs:

Wednesday
Boys soccer
Class A
Pacelli at Landmark Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Boys tennis
Class AAA
Ola at Columbus High, 12:30 p.m.
Harris County at West Laurens, 3:30 p.m.
Northside at Spalding, 4:30 p.m.
Girls tennis
Class A
Pacelli at Turner County, Wednesday at 10 a.m.
Class AAA
Ola at Columbus High, Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.
Northside at Spalding, Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
Hardaway at West Laurens, Wednesday at 4 p.m.


Thursday
Boys soccer
Class A
Pike County at Brookstone, 5 p.m.
Class AAA
Spalding vs. Hardaway, 6 p.m. (Kinnett Stadium)
Ola vs. Columbus High, 8 p.m. (Kinnett Stadium)

Friday
Baseball
Russell County at Daphne, TBA
Girls soccer
Class A
Our Lady of Mercy at Brookstone, 5 p.m.
Pacelli at Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy, 5:30 p.m.
Class AAA
Mary Persons vs. Columbus High, 5 p.m. (Kinnett Stadium)
West Laurens at Harris County, 5:30 p.m.
Hardaway at Spalding, 6 p.m.

Parade on Saturday

Everyone in the Bi-City area will have the oportunity to celebrate with the Kendrick girls basketball team one more time on Saturday.

The Lady Cherokees will be in a parade that starts at 11 a.m. The parade will start at Columbus Bank & Trust in Phenix City and will travel south on Broadway in
Columbus. It will end at the Columbus Government Center.

The Cherokees will also have a banquet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at St. Luke United Methodist Ministry Center. The cost of the ticket to the banquet is $35, which will help defray costs of the championship rings and billboards. Tickets are available at the school.

Clarification and standings

I had never seen a coach confined to the dugout until it happened to Columbus High coach Bobby Howard on Monday against Shaw.

After Howard argued a call in the fourth inning, the umpires restricted him to the dugout.

I spoke GHSA media relations director Steve Figueroa, who compared being confined to the dugout to a coach picking up a first technical foul in basketball.

He said there is no penalty or suspension for being confined to the dugout. An ejection carries a two-game suspension.

With that over with, it should be an interesting final few weeks in Region 2-AAA and Region 4-A.

The Region 4-A title can be determined on Tuesday when Pacelli and Brookstone play. Both teams have one loss.

Here is a quick look at the standings:

Region 2-AAA
Columbus 14-0
Northside 10-3
Shaw 10-4
LaGrange 10-4
Troup 9-5
Hardaway 9-5
Harris County 6-9
Kendrick, Spencer, Jordan and Carver have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Region 4-A
Pacelli 5-1
Brookstone 4-1
Schley County 3-2
Taylor County 4-3
Grenville 1-3
Stewart-Quitman 0-2
Chattahoochee County 0-5

Kendrick's Tinker leaves

Kendrick is the sixth Bi-City team looking for a new football coach this offseason.

Ahmand Tinker, who coached the Cherokees for the last five years, said he has resigned as head coach and athletic director.

Tinker said he wants to get into administration and he is exploring opportunities around the state.

“I have enjoyed the camaraderie with the coaches,” Tinker said. “I am grateful for the opportunity that (Kendrick Principal) Dr. Edward Barnwell and the Muscogee County School District gave me to become a head coach.”

The Cherokees are the fourth MCSD team to replace their coach this year. Columbus High, Northside and Hardaway have all already hired their next coach. Pacelli and Smiths Station also will have a first-year coach in the fall.

Over the last two seasons, coaching changes have been a common occurrence in the Bi-City as 10 of the 16 teams have replaced a coach. Central’s Ron Nelson is the longest tenured Bi-City coach having coached the Red Devils each of the last 10 years.

Carver coach Dell McGee, who has coached the Tigers for three years, will be the longest tenured coach at one MCSD school this fall.

Messages left for Barnwell were not immediately returned.

Tinker didn’t have a lot of success on the field during his tenure with the Cherokees. He compiled a record of 13-37 and never made the state playoffs. His best season was in 2004 when the Cherokees went 4-6.

Even though Tinker didn’t win a lot of games, his legacy at Kendrick will likely be his ability to get players a scholarship. During his five seasons, he had 37 players sign a scholarship, including having 27 sign over the last two seasons.

All Bi City basketball

After a perfect season that ended with the first state championship for a Muscogee County girls basketball team, it's no surprise that Kendrick forward Janae McKinney was selected Ledger-Enquirer's All-Bi-City Girls Player of the Year.

She also was selected by the media as the Class AAA player of the year. It is the second straight year that she was the Bi-City player of the year.

On the boys side, it was a little harder. There were a handful of players than had an outstanding season. In the end, Carver's Jarvis Jones stood out a little more. The 6-foot-4 forward is the main reason the Tigers defeated Dunwoody and advanced to the AAA finals.

He was just a little better than some of the other candidates. It's the second time that he has been the player of the year.

The full All-Bi-City list will be out soon. So keep a look out for it.

Baseball standings and other stuff

As the regular season reached mid-way point, it seems like it is going to be an extremely interesting second half in Region 2-AAA.

Columbus has established itself as the region's most dominant team, winning its first 11 region games.

Shaw picked up a big win against Troup on Monday afternoon. The Tigers have now lost back-to-back region games. If the playoffs started today, Troup wouldn't make them.

There is a log jam toward the top of the region, and several teams still have aspirations of making the state playoffs.

Here are the region standings so far:
Columbus 11-0
Northside 8-2
Shaw 8-3
LaGrange 7-3
Troup 7-4
Hardaway 6-5
Harris County 5-6
Kendrick 4-7
Spencer 3-8
Jordan 0-10
Carver 0-11

* I think that is right, if not, it's close.

All-Bi-City selections

It's that time of year again. It's the most fun time of the year. Picking the All-Bi-City teams is always a challenge and a fun time.

It's a long process and a lot of time is spent trying to select the players that are most deserving of being honored.

It's not easy and someone is always going to feel left out. Like the NCAA tournament no matter how many players (or teams in the case of the NCAA tournament), someone is the going to be the first one out.

But the most interesting thing to me is trying to decide who should be player of the year. While the players of the year have been selected I am interested to see what everyone else thinks.

There are a lot of choices, but were are some of the options.

On the boys side:

Terrance Hill, Jordan

Steve Peterson, Jordan

Jarvis Jones, Carver

Alex Phillips, Smiths Station

On the girls side:

Janae McKinney, Kendrick

Mukia Myrick, Kendrick

Kelly Ellison, Hardaway

Kianna Pinkney, Glenwood

Let me know what you think.

Former Glenwood star receiving D-I attention

Former Glenwood basketball standout Will Coleman was a first-all conference selection this winter at Miami Dade Community College.

Coleman, who was a first-team All-Bi-City selection in 2007, led the Gators to the Alabama Independent School Association Class AAAA state title as a senior.

Coleman will play another season at Miami Dade before transferring to another school. Several major Division I schools have already expressed interest, according to Glenwood coach Dusty Perdue. Clemson, Missouri, Minnesota, UConn and Tulane are some of the schools recruiting the 6-foot-9 forward.

Alabama all-state team announced

The Alabama Sportswriters Association released its all-state team and five players were honored.

Glenwood's Kianna Pinkney was named the AISA player of the year. Teammate Alicia Nelson was a first-team all-state pick.

Glenwood's Scott Balkcum was a second-team pick, and Kanden Blackmon was an honorable mention selection.

Smiths Station's Alex Phillips, who trasferred from Glenwood after helping lead the Gators to the title last year, made the Class 6A second team.

The Georgia Sportswriters Association all-state team should be released in a week.

Rain outs

With the heavy rain that fell in the Chattahoochee Valley this afternoon, baseball games that were scheduled had to be postponed.

The game between Shaw and Columbus High will be played on Thursday at 4 p.m. at Randy Jordan Field.

The GHSA rules state that games must be made up on the first available day.

Drawing interest

It's seems like 2009 is going to be a good year for recruiting in the Bi-City. Everyone knows all about Carver's Jarvis Jones, but he is one of seven area players to receive a scholarship offer from a Division I school.

Central-Phenix City running back Orwin Smith has a handful of offers already, including Auburn, Alabama and Georgia Tech.

As the spring rolls around, I'm sure that number will continue to increase. But here is a quick look at some of the offers.


John Drew, Northside; Verbally committed to Georgia Tech

Jarvis Jones, Carver; Offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Miami, Tennessee, LSU and Kentucky

Orwin Smith, Central-Phenix City; Offers from Auburn, Alabama, UAB, Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt

Marlin Sims, Central-Phenix City; Offer from Auburn

Jacovi White, Chattahoochee County; Offer from UCF

LeRon Furr, Carver; Offer from UCF

Ryan Campbell, Shaw; Offer from Troy

Source: Rivals.com

Greathouse leads Shaw to win

Wow.

Shaw's Cam Greathouse was impressive this afternooon. He struck out 13 and didn't walk a hitter, leading Shaw to a 1-0 victory against Harris County.

Greathouse was dominant from the opening inning until he recorded the game’s final out. The senior left-hander struck out two in the first and the side in the second. He struck out at least one batter in every inning.

Maybe even more impressive that double-digit strikeout total was ability to throw strikes. Greathouse, who has struggled with his command during his career, threw 76 of his 119 pitches for a strike.

Harris County pitcher Tyler Dent didn't deserve to lose.

Dent scattered three hits and recorded 14 ground-ball outs as he needed just 69 pitches in six innings.

The only run Dent allowed was in the third inning when the Raiders (4-2, 2-1) had back-to-back two-out hits. Howie Shackelford had an infield single and scored on Cain Fuller’s hard-hit double that rolled to the fence.

Carver gets it done

The Tigers did the unthinkable, and it wasn't even that close.

Carver jumped out to an early lead and then never trailed in the game. Jarvis Jones scored 13 of his team-high 28 points in the pivotal third quarter.

The Tigers led by as many as 20.

Carver now has the chance to win both a basketball and a football state title in the same school year.

I wouldn't be surprised if they do it.

No one thinks it can happen

It you took a poll around the Macon Coliseum, almost everyone would pick Dunwoody to knock off Carver.

The only people that would give the Tigers a vote of confidence are the die-hard fans. I don't know what is going to happen, but I give Carver a better chance than most.

The Tigers are going to play much better than it did in the quarterfinals against Liberty County. And it would be pretty hard not to. Carver wasn't very good in that one.

Jarmon Fortson and Jarvis Jones aren't going to let the Tigers get dismantled.

In a couple hours, we'll see what is going to happen.

I will post updates throughout the game on our Web site.

Where the yellow jerseys?

Whenver it was a big game, Kendrick would wear its yellow jerseys. The Lady Cherokees haven't worn them the last year or so.

So I decided to ask Sterling Hicks, if the Cherokees would wear them tonight. He told me GHSA rules prevents them from wearing them. The home team has to wear white and the road team has to wear a dark color.

If Kendrick wore yellow every player would receive a technical foul. I told Sterling that would make the game more competitive.

He didn't think it was funny.

I don't know much, but I think this is going to be Kendrick's year. I guess we'll see in a little bit.

Glenn Hills girls win

GLENN HILLS 48, CAIRO 36
Jessica Morton made three 3-pointers, but none was bigger than the one right before the half.

Morton’s 3 capped a 7-0 run and the Lady Spartans never looked back, cruising to a 48-36 victory in the Class AAA quarterfinals on Saturday at Columbus State’s Lumpkin Center.

With the victory, Glenn Hills advances to the final four for the first time since 2002 – the year the Spartans won the AAAA state title. They will play winner of Carrollton and Franklin County on Friday at 4 p.m. in Macon.

The Spartans led 21-20 with 1:56 left in the first half before they scored the final seven points.

Morton finished with 14 points, while Ciara Lyons scored 17.

Ashley Holt was the only Cairo player in double digits. She finished with 17.